Alabama Department of Archives and History

Alabama Insane Hospital's newspaper The Meteor

The Meteor was written, printed, and published by the patients of Bryce Hospital. Its original purpose was for the benefit of the patients and to explain the practical operation of the institution to its patrons. Later, it intended to inform the friends and patrons of the hospital, state newspaper editors, and state legislators of the conditions and purposes of the Hospital. It was designed to provide something for everybody.

The newspaper was named The Meteor because meteors come as a surprise, appear at irregular intervals, and have brilliant though short, temporary careers. The paper was also meant "to glow with a kindly and generous sentiment to all mankind." It appeared quarterly for five years and then became a "semi-occasionally" because the printer and editor, "disgusted with the succession of years that still found them at the Hospital, determined . . . to print a number only when inclined to do so." The editor also surmised that people would not expect a regular publication from a hospital patient.

For more information about The Meteor, see:
Burt Rieff, "The Meteor: The 'Remarkable Enterprise' at the Alabama Insane Hospital, 1872-1881," The Alabama Review, vol. 52, no. 2 (April 1999).